Captive fastener



Nov. 25, 1941. c Ns 2,263,798 CAPTIVE ,FASTENER Filed April 28, 1938ATTORNEY atented Nov. 25, 1941 CAITIVE FASTENER John A. Clemens, Pro

Island vidence, R. I., assigner to Davol Rubber Company, a corporationcf Rhode Application April 28, 1938, Serial No. 204,879

1 Claim.

My present invention relates to the manufacturc of rubber articles, andhas particular reference to captive metallic fasteners to rubberarticles.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a novel look forsecuring metal. retainers, such as a chain or the like, to rubberarticles, such as a cap for a hot water bottle.

It is a further object of my invention to look the metal retainer to therubber article so as to entirely conceal the locking arrangement.

Another object of my invention is to provide a secure look againstaccidental separation, which utilizes the resilience of the rubber asthe retaining force, whereby separation may be efiected if desired.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, myinvention consists of a novel arrangement et parts more fully disclosedin the detailed description folloWitxg. in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, and more specifically defined in the claim ap-.pended thereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a hot water bottle and cap, to which myinvention is illustratively applied;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of thecap;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, parts being broken away;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, the metal retainer being removed;

Fig. 6 is a view of the metal retainer;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a preierred joining tool;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail showing the mounting of the retainer forsecuring; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the securing step.

It has been found desirable to look a metallic retainer chain to arubber article, such as a cap or the like, without breakage or strain onthe rubber, and without outward disclosure of the locking arrangement. Ihave devised a construction which utilizes the natural resilience of therubber, by forming a cavity in the rubber having a narrow neck, and thenforcing an enlarged end of the metallic chainthrough the narrow neckinto the cavity, whereby a secure look is obtained. I have found itpreferable to form the cavity of generally spherical contour, and theenlarged end as spherical and somewhat smaller than the cavity whereby auniversal connection is obtained, thus relieving strain due to twistingor turning of net results.

the metallic chain with respect to the rubber article.

Referring to the drawing, the hot Water bag l0 has a detachable cap Il,the cap having a metal shell l3 which is preferably threaded asindicated at [2 to'threadedly engage the correspondingly threadedmetallic neck Il of the bag Il]. The shell [3 has a rubber top l4secured therein by any suitable means, as by spinning or the like,provided vvith a cavity 15 having a narrow neck l6 and a conicalentrance passage Il. A metal- 1ic chain l3 is provided, having a lookring I9 at one end for attachment to a suitable retainer element 20 onthe metallic neck Ha, and a hall 2l at the other end for locking in thecavity I5, whereby a captive cap arrangement results.

It is preferred to use a joining tool 22, see Fig. 7, having a, metallictip 23 which has an end bore 24 and a side wa]l slit 25, the tip end 26being preferably concave or conical, whereby the ball 2l may be seatedon the tip end and the chain l8 then passed through the bore 24 and outof the slit 25, thus enabling the operator to firmly grasp the handle ofthe joining tool and the end of the chain andto thrust the ball past theyielding neck l6 into the cavity l5, see Figs. 9 and 4.

The hall is now retained in the cavity by the resilience of the rubbersides of the neck l6, and the cap becomes a captive cap which cannot beseparated or lost from the bag. There are no outward visible lock means,whereby a finished prod- If the ball is large enough to be gripped bythe cavity walls, a firmer look is obtained; if it is somewhat loose inthe cavity, a

: universal connection results.

Aithough I have described a specific constructional embodiment of myinvention, it is obvious that the principles thereof may be applied tothe locking of a retainer element or chain to any article havingresilience, and that the cavity, size and contour, the material andshape of the retainer, and the size and contour of the retainer end, maybe changed to suit the requirements for different articles, designed forother purposes, without departing from the spirit and the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claim.

1 claim:

A stopper for hot water bottles and the like, comprising a hollow metalbody portion of cylindrical shape having its outer wal1 threaded andhaving an upper fiange portion projecting latexally from the cylindricalportion and shaped to lockingly receive a top closure dise, said disehaving a central generally spherical depending socket and a constrictedneck opening of narrow wdth having yieldable resilient walls andcommunicating with said socket, and a chain having a spherical hallswvelly connected to one end and seated in said sphencal socket, saidbail being of a size 130 substantially fi11 said socket and of adiameter greater than said neck opening, Whereby said spherical end,after beng forced through the isilient walls of said neck opening, ispermanently retained in said socket against accidental removal.

JOHN A. CLEMENS.

